WATCH: Mets' pitching depth takes a hit, so who's left?

NEW YORK -- It appears as though the cabinets are never stocked full enough.

When it comes to pitching depth, the Mets always seem to take a hit. They started spring with seven quality starting pitchers, mulling the use of a six-man rotation. Late in spring training, there was an eighth pitcher that turned some heads.

The Mets had a solid plan: They'd use five starters and put two of the relievers in the bullpen, pulling them out when needed to make spot-starts, spelling some of those fragile elbows in the rotation. Another would go down to Triple-A Las Vegas to stretch out as an emergency starter.

All of the candidates pitched so well that they couldn't figure out who to send to Triple-A until the final day of camp.

But one game into the season, they're now at five starting pitchers. Rafael Montero earned a bullpen spot, but at this point, he may end up a starter sooner or later with Seth Lugo and Steven Matz both on the 10-day disabled list. Lugo has been shut down for "a couple weeks" and Matz won't throw for at least three. Rehab starts will be needed for Matz and no one seems to know what's going on with Lugo.